Queens Jazz Orchestra Plays Fiesta Mojo at Flushing Town Hall on Saturday
Question: What do Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Charlie Mingus and Lena Horne have in common? Obvious answer: They lived in Queens. Actually, they are just a few of the dozens of jazz greats who made their home in the music-rich borough. On May 25, the 17-piece Queens Jazz Orchestra will celebrate…
Question: What do Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Charlie Mingus and Lena Horne have in common? Obvious answer: They lived in Queens. Actually, they are just a few of the dozens of jazz greats who made their home in the music-rich borough. On May 25, the 17-piece Queens Jazz Orchestra will celebrate the genius of some other local legends — Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Illinois Jacquet and Nat “Cannonball” Adderly — by performing Fiesta Mojo, a rare composition written by Dizzy Gillespie, who is buried in Flushing Cemetery, and arranged by QJO Director Jimmy Heath (conducting above). Fiesta Mojo features Brazilian-inflected melodies and grooves that fascinated Gillespie when he toured South America as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. government. Details: Fiesta Mojo, 8 pm, Flushing Town Hall, $20-$40.
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